October & November Marketing Blog
Ways to Make the Most of your Holiday Pharmacy Marketing
Good news! Shoppers are inclined to spend more money during the holiday season, so now is the perfect time to plan and promote your products and services and grow your relationship with new and current patients. If you are ready to get your pharmacy prepared for holidays, here are a few ideas to consider.
Begin with Your Front-End
If shoppers are more inclined to spend during the holidays, why not give the people what they want?
- Place all of your holiday items in one section of the store. Items can include decorations, gift baskets, holiday meal-prep cookbooks, fall-scented candles and discounted limited-time products.
- Do you decorate your store with a Christmas tree? Hang retail products from the tree instead of ornaments.
- Entice your patients to hang out a little longer by decorating your store and offering free hot apple cider, hot chocolate, coffee or baked goods. Play holiday music over the store speakers, and if you want to step it up a notch, encourage your staff to dress in holiday attire. This will make your pharmacy more inviting and humanizes your business.
Show Appreciation
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to show your patients you appreciate them, but why stop there?
- Write hand-written thank you notes/cards and attach them to prescription bags. Writing a thank you note, card or letter by hand is more personable and will leave a lasting impression. It signals that you have 'made an effort' and therefore conveys your appreciation more appropriately. Even if they don’t keep it, they will remember you gave it.
- Treat your patients like family, by sending them a holiday card with a jolly photo of your staff. If you have a little more wiggle room in your budget, take it a step further by sending a 2019 calendar pre-printed with important dates, promotions, sales, etc.
Offer Health Advice
The end of the year is the perfect time to encourage your patients and their furry friends to start the new year off in good health. Below are just a few free editable resources we’ve created to help you get started.
Hold a Contest
Bringing out the competitive nature in your patients is a great way to engage your pharmacy’s front-end shoppers. Below are a few ideas to consider.
- Ginger-bread house making competition
- Holiday cookie or pumpkin pie bake-off: The best part about baking contests is everyone enjoys the spoils of the winners and losers once the contest concludes.
- Ugly holiday sweater contest to see who wears the ugliest sweater or sweater vest. If you don't have time to hold an event in your store, hold the contest online by asking your patients to submit photos via facebook or email. Encourage them to wear the sweater into the store when they pick up their prize and snap a group photo with staff.
- Social media contests: If your pharmacy has a strong social media following, consider holding a contest to promote your brand. Prizes can include in-store products, gift cards or free services. Contest examples include:
- Like our page and submit your email to be added to our mailing list
- Provide a testimonial about our pharmacy or pharmacist
- Referral promotion: Post a promo video or flier about your pharmacy and encourage people to share it and tag friends.
Here are a few social media contest platforms to help you get started.
Each social media channel also has specific guidelines retailers must follow in order to host a contest or giveaway on their site. Read up on their guidelines below:
Give Back
Raising money or collecting items for a charity provides valuable support to your community and an opportunity for you to network and reach potential new patients. Below are a few ways to make this happen:
- Hold a canned-food drive at your pharmacy
- Participate in the Coats for Kids campaign by asking your patients to donate used coats
- Ask patients to donate $1 at the time of sale to a charity of your choice. Advise them that your store will match the total amount.
November Health Observances
- American Diabetes Month
- Diabetic Eye Disease Month
- Lung Cancer Awareness Month
- National Healthy Skin Month
- National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month
- National Epilepsy Awareness Month
- National Family Caregivers Month
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
- Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
- Prematurity Awareness Month
- Great American Smokeout (15th)
December Health Observances
- International AIDS Awareness Month
- National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
- Safe Toys and Gifts Month
- National Handwashing Awareness Week (2nd - 8th)
- National Influenza Vaccination Week (1st - 7th)
For a complete list of 2019 National Health Observances with free hyperlinked resources, download the American Pharmacies 2019 Pharmacy, Health and Wellness Observances Calendar. Additional tips and resources are available in the Marketing Resource Center